Ghorpade finishes ninth in his Formula 2 ALPS debut

Vallelunga: Young Indian racing driver Parth Ghorpade finished ninth in his Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS debut at Vallelunga, Italy.

In race two, Ghorpade had a brilliant start and moved from 16th to 7th position in the opening lap before being punted out of the race. The practice sessions over the weekend, which were all hit by heavy rain, saw Ghorpade finishing in 24th and 19th positions. This also meant that he went into qualifying with limited dry running time. Qualifying is split into two groups since the grid has 36 cars on it. In the first race, the Indian had a bad start and slipped to 11th place. He managed to pull off two great overtaking moves and ended up finishing in ninth position. The Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS, is one of the most competitive feeder series for the Formula Renault 3.5 championship. The Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS, powered by the Clio III Renault Sport engine, has a paddle-operated 7-speed sequential gearbox, with 250bhp and push rod suspension. The ALPS series will have 36 drivers for the 2013 season with seven rounds consisting of two races each. IANS